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SAN FRANCISCO – A US court of appeal on Friday ordered a new trial in a lawsuit accusing Led Zeppelin of copying an obscure instrument from the 1960s for the introduction of his 1971 classic "Stairway to Heaven". A jury of the Federal Court in Los Angeles two years ago found Led Zeppelin did not steal the famous riff of the song "Taurus" of the Spirit band.
But a panel of three judges of the 9th United States Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the lower court judge had misdirected the jury and misled the jury. He returned the case to court for another trial.
Michael Skidmore, an estate trustee of former Spirit guitarist, Randy Wolfe, filed a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin in 2015.
The jury handed down their verdict for Led Zeppelin after a five-day trial in which group members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant testified. Page and Plant, who wrote the lyrics for "Stairway", stated that their creation was original, and in several hours of often lively and entertaining testimonials, they described the craft behind one of the most well-known songs of the rock.
In 2016, Page testified that his progression of chords in the song is common, comparing "Stairway" to a song "Mary Poppins", "Chim Chim Cher-ee". He said that the chord sequences "are very similar because this chord sequence has always existed".
The jury felt that "Stairway to Heaven" and "Taurus" were not substantially similar, according to the decision of the 9th circuit.
But US District Judge R. Gary Klausner failed to advise jurors that certain elements of the song, such as his notes or scale, may not benefit from copyright protection. . .
Klausner also incorrectly stated to the jurors that the copyright does not protect the chromatic scales, arpeggios or short sequences of three notes found in the 9th Circuit panel.
"This error was not harmless as it undermined the testimony of Skidmore's expert that Led Zeppelin copied a chromatic scale used in an original way," Paez said.
The panel also found another misleading jury instruction. Francis Malofiy, a Skidmore lawyer, said in a statement that his client was facing "unfair court-level decisions" and was "looking forward to a fair fight".
"Today, we are proud that three esteemed jurists of the 9th Circuit have recognized the battle we have fought and the injustice we have faced," he said.
One of the issues raised at trial was that the jurors could only listen to the interpretations of Taurus' scores, not the recorded version of the song performed by Spirit. Steven Weinberg, a copyright lawyer who attended the trial, said that the "Taurus" score was not faithful to the recording, so the jurors could not compare the songs so just.
The 9th Circuit, in its ruling on Friday, said the jurors should have been allowed to listen to the tape to help establish that Page had "access" to "Taurus", which means he would have known about it.
Weinberg said that a new jury will now hear a recording of "Taurus".
"I think this decision alone has the potential to change the outcome in the next trial, because the jury will finally be able to compare apples to apples," he said.
A telephone message left by Led Zeppelin's lawyer, Peter Anderson, was not immediately returned.
Carter Evans contributed to this report.
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